Safety in numbers? Murder raises concerns over hunting alone

Despite the dangers, many hunting enthusiasts enjoy communing with nature by hunting alone. "Being alone is the real joy for me," said Dan Martinell, owner of Martinell's deer processing and taxidermy in Tannersville.

Despite the dangers, many hunting enthusiasts enjoy communing with nature by hunting alone.

"Being alone is the real joy for me," said Dan Martinell, owner of Martinell's deer processing and taxidermy in Tannersville. "Some of the best times of my life have been hunting alone out in the woods."

Solitary hunters thrive on the entire outdoor experience.

"Someone once said I don't hunt to kill, I kill to have hunted. Today, with GPS and tracking, that worry of getting lost while hunting is diminishing. You get a cell phone, plug in your coordinates, and 10 minutes later you have a helicopter over you," Martinell joked.

"If you are injured and unable to contact someone, a companion can help," he added.

It is hard to know if a companion would have made a difference to Lee Van Luvender, 22, of Saylorsburg, who was shot multiple times and killed, while hunting alone Tuesday.

Van Luvender's body was found outside a Jeep in a parking area off Hypsie Gap Road, which runs from Route 715 in Chestnuthill Township to Kuhenbeaker Road in Tunkhannock Township. He was wearing hunting clothes, has a hunting license with him and was known to be an avid hunter. Police are investigating the murder and have made no arrests.

Hunting used to be a more social sport. Groups of friends would get together and hunt for the entire season.

"Today, most guys can only get off a day here or there," said Stuart Klingel of Klingel Deer Processing in East Stroudsburg. "We used to see hunting groups or families come in. Now the biggest groups are two or three guys. More hunters have to go it alone."

"Most guys hunt alone because they don't have that network of guys," Klingel said.

Less space for hunting has created problems, too.

Hunting on private property is preferable if hunters can find a parcel. On private land, hunters will likely know the other hunters near their stand.

"When you are dealing with public land, it is not good to go it alone," Klingel said. "All you see is a field of orange. There are squabbles over who shot what. A wounded retreating deer could be shot by another hunter, then both lay claim to the kill in a heated argument."

Klingel said such scenes play out every year.

"Men are territorial and some guys get pretty filled with testosterone while hunting," he said.